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GOLF; At Club in Augusta, Policy of Chairman Remains 'Men Only'

The chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, continuing to resist pressure to admit a woman, says the club has no immediate plans to change its all-men's membership. He says that no woman will be invited to join Augusta before next year's Masters, in early April, and that it may be several years, or longer, before a woman is invited.

Speaking for the first time since the issue became public in July, the chairman, William Johnson, remained steadfast in his position that as a private club, Augusta National had no legal, moral or social obligation to invite a woman to join, despite hosting the Masters, one of golf's four major championships, which is watched by millions worldwide.

''I've said before and I'll say again that a woman may very well become a member of Augusta,'' Mr. Johnson, known as Hootie, said in an interview. ''But that is sometime off in the future, which wouldn't suggest that it's on the horizon. In the meantime, we hold dear our tradition and our constitutional right to choose.''

Martha Burk, chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations, reacted with dismay to Mr. Johnson's position.

''If the decision stands not to admit a woman before next year's Masters, then it's a slap in the face to Augusta members who have spoken out asking for this discrimination to end,'' she said. ''The rational and predictable course of action would be to get this over with. But Mr. Johnson has shown that he doesn't always take the rational and predictable approach.''

Mr. Johnson remained adamant that the club would not be swayed by pressure from Ms. Burk, who has urged the club to admit women. ''Ms. Burk has nothing to do with this club,'' Johnson said. ''Her threats mean nothing to me.''

By restating his position, Mr. Johnson also indicated that he had not been moved by the public positions of some high-profile corporate executives who are members of Augusta and who have endorsed admitting women. They include Sanford I. Weill of Citigroup and Kenneth I. Chenault of American Express. Mr. Johnson declined to comment on their positions. ''I'm not going to talk about member issues,'' he said. ''Those are private matters to be dealt with from within.''

Mr. Johnson, 71, made his statements last week in a 45-minute session at his office in Augusta, Ga. The interview, which was offered by his aides, was one of several interviews he gave with major news organizations on condition that they not publish them until today.

Mr. Johnson's mood ranged from serious to jovial, and he often leaned forward in his chair to emphasize a point. There were several questions regarding membership policies that Mr. Johnson refused to discuss. But it was clear that Augusta was no closer to admitting women than it was over the summer, when the dispute between Mr. Johnson and Ms. Burk gained international attention.

Augusta has for years protected the privacy of its internal workings, and it is not clear who would make the decision to invite a woman to join. However, those who have portrayed Mr. Johnson as a dove on the issue, and an internal proponent of change, would seem to be mistaken.

''What's really gotten me is that this woman calls us discriminatory,'' Mr. Johnson said. ''She calls us bigots. And the press and the media jump all over this. If we discriminate, do the Girl Scouts discriminate? Do the Boy Scouts discriminate? Does Spelman College discriminate? Does Smith College discriminate? Do social fraternities and sororities discriminate?

''Single-gender organizations are good, and part of the fabric of America. Nobody has stopped to think about that. Nothing has been written about it. But it's a fact.''

Mr. Johnson is convinced that most Americans agree with his position. To back that up, the club announced that it would release results tomorrow of a poll conducted by an independent Washington-based research firm showing that the majority of those polled, including women, sided with the club.

Mr. Johnson pointed toward a stack of letters piled at least four inches high on his desk, written by people supporting him and the club.

''You'd be surprised at the support we have,'' Mr. Johnson said. ''People love and respect the Masters tournament. They've really had enough of this woman, the majority of Americans. I think a lot of people paying attention to it are supporting us.''

Ms. Burk, whose organization is the nation's oldest and largest coalition of women's groups, with 160 member organizations, said she was not surprised by his stance.

''I don't think this changes anything for us,'' she said. ''There's nothing new here. There's a long time between now and April, and I'm still hoping cooler heads prevail. This is not good for the club, and it's not good for golf.

''They're not the Boy Scouts. That's a silly argument. They're a club whose members are C.E.O.'s of some of the biggest corporations in America. Is it legal what they're doing? Probably. Is it right? No.''

It remains to be seen how the rest of the golf world will react to Mr. Johnson's latest remarks. Tiger Woods, a three-time Masters champion who has been looked to by some to take the lead on this issue, has said he is in favor of having a woman join Augusta. But he also stated that a private club had the right to choose its membership. Mr. Woods's agent, Mark Steinberg, did not return a telephone call yesterday seeking further comment from Mr. Woods.

Bob Combs, the PGA Tour's senior vice president for communications, said yesterday that Commissioner Tim Finchem was unlikely to make any statements regarding Mr. Johnson's interview. ''Commissioner Finchem has already articulated the Tour's position, and it remains unchanged,'' Mr. Combs said.

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Augusta National runs the Masters, which the Tour recognizes as a major championship, and the Tour includes Masters winnings on its money list. Ms. Burk has urged the Tour not to recognize the Masters as a major anymore, partly because it is against the Tour's policy to hold tournaments at golf clubs that have exclusionary membership practices.

Spokesmen for Mr. Chenault of American Express and Mr. Weill of Citigroup said they declined to comment on Mr. Johnson's interview.

As the canyon between Mr. Johnson and Ms. Burk remained as wide as ever, Mr. Johnson said none of Ms. Burk's actions, past, present or future, would influence the club's decisions.

''There has been so much speculation about when we are going to add a woman member,'' he said. ''First of all, I'd like to say we have no timetable. Second, our membership has enjoyed camaraderie and a kindred spirit that we think is the heart and soul of our club. It's difficult for us to change something that has worked so well.''

Asked why Augusta had not admitted a woman, Mr. Johnson said: ''I guess because we haven't chosen to, up to this point. But that doesn't mean there might not be a day when we do.''

The dispute between Augusta National and Ms. Burk became public on July 9, when Mr. Johnson issued a public statement in response to a letter written in private by Ms. Burk that strongly urged Augusta National to admit a woman before the 2003 Masters. Mr. Johnson fired back with an emotional statement that read in part: ''We will not be bullied, threatened, or intimidated. We do not intend to become a trophy in their display case. There may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership, but that timetable will be ours, and not at the point of a bayonet.''

Why did Mr. Johnson respond so angrily?

''She threatened the club, and I didn't like it,'' Mr. Johnson said. ''And she's done everything that I predicted she would.''

Mr. Johnson admitted that his initial statement probably should have taken a less aggressive tone.

''Yes, maybe I should have softened it some,'' Mr. Johnson said. ''I'm not saying it couldn't have been handled better.''

In August, Mr. Johnson announced that next year's Masters would not have sponsors, a move he said was intended to counter the pressure Ms. Burk was putting on companies connected with the tournament.

Mr. Johnson said he believed that the sponsors would return for future Masters, even with an all-men's Augusta National.

''I think once all the facts are out, there won't be pressure on the sponsors, not legitimate pressure,'' Mr. Johnson said. ''And I also think we'll get our sponsors back. I won't predict what year, but it won't be long, because we're right.''

That was the essence of Mr. Johnson's position: that as a private club, Augusta National had no apologies or changes to make, because there was nothing wrong with being a single-sex institution. Some have been puzzled by Mr. Johnson's staunch stand on this issue. He has four daughters and a record of providing business opportunities for African-Americans in South Carolina.

''They're totally different, racial issues and gender issues,'' Mr. Johnson said. ''You've never heard a constitutional lawyer say they were the same thing. You've never heard a civil rights activist say that they were the same thing. And if they were the same thing, maybe they would've been put into the Civil Rights Act. So they're totally different.

''We are a private club. And that's just a fact. I don't feel uncomfortable being associated with the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts and the Junior League. And no one else should.''

In his comments last month, Mr. Woods suggested that the issue might get resolved if Mr. Johnson and Ms. Burk met face to face. But Mr. Johnson said he had no interest in meeting with Ms. Burk.

''That wouldn't be too disturbing to me,'' Mr. Johnson said. ''Our patrons are ladies and gentlemen, and when they come, they will ignore that.''

Asked if Augusta National would try to proceed with the tournament as normal, Mr. Johnson responded: ''No, we won't try. We will proceed. And will succeed.''

So while the debate and the dispute will surely not end, Mr. Johnson said that his conscience was clear and that he was looking forward, not backward.

''What's done is done,'' Mr. Johnson said. ''We are where we are. And we're right. And right usually prevails.''

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A version of this article appears in print on November 12, 2002, on Page A00001 of the National edition with the headline: GOLF; At Club in Augusta, Policy of Chairman Remains 'Men Only'. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe